Gophers to Face Buckeyes on Inaugural Pride Night

MINNEAPOLIS - Minnesota (9-8, 2-3 B1G) is back at Williams Arena to host its first Pride Night against Ohio State (12-3, 4-2 B1G) on Saturday night. The Jan. 15, matchup can be streamed on B1G+ and can be found on KFAN+ with Tanner Hoops and Lynnette Sjoquist on the call.

ABOUT THIS GAME

The last time the Gophers and Buckeyes faced off was in February of 2021 when Minnesota lost in Columbus 83-59. Kadi Sissoko led the way offensively with 13 points and nine rebounds in 24 minutes. Sara Scalia (12) and Klarke Sconiers (12) also scored in double figures. In the only meeting last season the Gophers were without Gadiva Hubbard. Three Gophers will likely make their debuts against the Buckeyes with Deja Winters, Bailey Helgren and Alanna Micheaux all getting their first cracks at Ohio State.
Minnesota and Ohio State will meet for the 79th time on Saturday. It's Minnesota's third-most played series behind only Iowa (82 meetings) and Wisconsin (82).
Minnesota has two Ohio natives on its current roster in Alexia Smith (Columbus, Ohio) and Deja Winters (Cleveland, Ohio). Out of high school Winters was a finalist for the Ohio Ms. Basketball Award out of Richmond Heights High School.
In Minneapolis, Ohio State holds a 11-23 series lead, including each of the last three. The two teams have played tight matchups at Williams Arena with three of the last four meetings being decided by 10 or less points including the Gophers last win on Feb. 24, 2016, in overtime 90-88.
Against common opponents with the Gophers the Buckeyes are 0-2 against Michigan and Syracuse while the Gophers picked up a win against Syracuse at the Battle 4 Atlantis.
Ohio State is 12-3 overall on the season and 4-2 in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes are winners of three straight, and are 1-1 on the road during the conference season thus far.

GOPHER NOTABLES

The Golden Gophers are coming off a 16-point Border Battle victory on the road on Wednesday night against Wisconsin (3-12, 0-5 B1G). Head coach Lindsay Whalen returned to the sidelines after missing two games (appendectomy). Jasmine Powell also returned to the lineup (family matter) to bolster the Gophers' offense. Redshirt junior forward Kadi Sissoko had one of her best all-around performances of her career notching 16 points, 8 rebounds and a career high 8 assists in the win.
Sara Scalia extended her double figures scoring streak to seven with her performance against Wisconsin. In her last seven games Scalia has averaged an impressive 19.3 points per game, has shot 45 percent from three and has averaged 5.7 rebounds per game. This season Scalia ranks 13th in the Big Ten in scoring average (15.2) and is seventh in 3-point percentage at 40.5 percent and is third in threes made per game at 2.9 and has made the second most total threes at 49.
As a team this season Minnesota has the second-best three-point field goal percentage in the Big Ten at 37.7 which is also good enough for 11th best in the NCAA. On average the Maroon and Gold make 8.6 threes per game, good enough for the 27th best mark in the nation and the third best in the conference. In total the team's 147 made threes is the most in the Big Ten and the seventh most in the country.
Saturday's game at Williams Arena will be Jasmine Powell's first game at home since Dec. 15 (31 days), against Ohio. Powell missed the Maryland game (1/9/22) due to a family matter back in Detroit, Mich. This season Powell has distributed the basketball at the best rate of her career so far this season. The junior guard is third in the Big Ten this season in assists per game at 5.6, good enough for the 25nd best rate in the country. Her current assists per game average (5.6) would be the sixth best assists per game rate in program history, just behind head coach Lindsay Whalen's fifth-place mark of 6.2 per game.
Since joining the starting lineup on Dec. 12, vs. Michigan, Alanna 'Rose' Micheaux has pushed her rebounding average significantly up, averaging 5.6 rebounds including an average of 3.3 on the offensive glass. She also has averaged 6.0 points per game while shooting 75 percent from the floor.
For the first time this season the Gophers scored 30 or more points in the paint in consecutive games in their win over Wisconsin as well as the game against No. 10/9 Maryland.
On Dec. 21, head coach Lindsay Whalen was announced as a candidate for the Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2022. Whalen, who is eligible for the first time this year, is on the ballot for her time as a player. After a stellar collegiate career where she led the Maroon and Gold to the Final Four, Whalen collected numerous honors and championships in the WNBA and with the U.S. National team. Finalists will be announced Friday, Feb. 18, in Cleveland, Ohio, during the NBA All-Star Weekend.
Minnesota's four signees in the 2022 signing class were all named McDonald's All-America Games nominees this week. Those future Golden Gophers include Mara Braun (Wayzata, Minn.), Amaya Battle (Hopkins, Minn.), Mallory Heyer (Chaska, Minn.) and Niamya Holloway (Eden Prairie, Minn.).

BY THE NUMBERS
2022 - Since the start of 2022 the Gophers are shooting 45.7 percent (79-of-173) from the floor, significantly better than their rate in 2021 of 41.4 percent (346-of-835)
10 - Three of the last four meetings in Minneapolis between the Gophers and Buckeyes have been decided by 10 points or less.
7 - Sara Scalia has scored in double figures in five straight games, the second longest streak of her career.
80 - Under head coach Lindsay Whalen the Gophers have won 80 percent of their games where they out rebound their opponent (40-10 overall).
6 - In 17 games so far this season the Maroon and Gold have had six different starting lineups.
5 - After Deja Winters' 20-point performance against No. 10/9 Maryland, five different Gophers have scored 20 or more points in a game this season.

Minnesota remains home for a big matchup with Iowa (9-4, 3-1 B1G) on the Big Ten Network. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. tip and can be streamed online as well as heard on KFAN+.

For more information on the Gophers, continue to check back with GopherSports.com. Keep up with the University of Minnesota women's basketball on Twitter and Instagram (@GopherWBB) and on Facebook, so you do not miss any content during the 2021-22 season.

Upcoming Events

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Bailey Helgren

Gadiva Hubbard

Alanna Micheaux

Jasmine Powell

Sara Scalia

Klarke Sconiers

Kadi Sissoko

Alexia Smith

Deja Winters